Jim Alexander wrote: (snip)Looks like the first and possibly only locks I will encounter are along the Okeechobee waterway. Well, to be honest, this is something new to me, I just never have had the fortune or misfortune, whichever is the case, to have transited a lock before.(snip) Jim- Don't be concerned about locking. Although I haven't seen the FL locks, I know they have to be a very short lift. In any case, the process needn't be much more complicated than docking side-to. If you have a prefered side to dock to, ask the lockmaster for permission to get on that side. Be prepared to go the other way though just in case. Check the Waterway Guide or other cruising guide for deatails on how those particular locks are set up and you will be prepared. The locks I have dealt with have floating bollards in the wall of the lock. You simply choose your bollard, come along side dead slow, and attach line or lines to it. Use plenty of fenders to be safe. You will get lots of opinions on how to rig the lines to the bollard. Some people use a line from the bow and one from the stern to the bollard amidships. With my boat, however, I find that simply using one line from my midship cleat directly to the bollard works just as well and is far easier to handle when it's just 2 of us aboard. I stand by the outside steering station and use the engine and rudder to steady the boat if there is a lot of turbulance or wind moving us in a way I don't like. Here's a very useful tip. I make up a loop on the outer end of the midship dockline that will be large enough to easily drop over the bollard using a boathook if I have to. To keep the loop open, I thread the line through a piece of 1" vinyl tubing before making the loop. It is by far the most secure and easy way to get tied up and free quickly that I have ever seen. The drill goes like this: after getting permission to enter the lock and any directions from the lockmaster, proceed dead slow to your spot. Your crew should have a boathook and the line rigged and ready. At this point I prefer to have the boat end of this line just loosly looped around its cleat. Get the line on the bollard and take in extra line and cleat it. Don't try to keep the boat too snug against the wall. Ideally you'll just float up next to the wall, not against it. Use the engine as needed as you would when docking to keep yourself straight. Let the engine do the work and don't put hands or body parts between the boat and wall. Stay tied untill the lockmaster signals you to leave the lock. Leave at dead slow, and thank the nice man for such a smooth ride. IMPORTANT SAFETY STUFF! Someone MUST stand by the line or lines at all times. They must have with them a tool that can instantly cut through the bollard line. A leatherman or typical boat knife is not good enough. If you don't believe me try cutting through a piece of line the size you would use when it is under a great deal of tension. The more tension, the harder it gets. For this job you need either something good sized and serrated, an axe, or a pair of good pruning shears (our choice). My wife usually handles the lines while I drive. She is small and cannot effectively cut a large line with any of the knives we have tried. I also worry about a large sharp blade being used while in an emergency situation. A manageable problem could easily turn into a serious injury. The axe presents the same problems, plus it would surely mess up my nice deck. We wound up with the garden shears, because they can be safely carried in a pocket. A slip while using them would not likely result in injury. Properly maintained, my wife can much more easily cut a rigid line than she could with any other tool we've tried. I am refering to the one hand sized shears. We have a pair that are mostly plastic and not very expensive. I keep them oiled, but if the fall apart I can easily replace them. I prefer the type with opposing curved blades rather than the blade on anvil style. I had to dive on my prop last year to free it from a crab pot. It was much easier to use the shears under water than a knife, because I didn't have to push against it to cut. The reason for my stressing the necessity of this procedure can best be understood by reading the story on Pilothouse Online about the lockthrough from Hell. Suffice it to say that rarely is there a problem, but when it happens, it happens fast and there is a lot of gear under so much pressure that something can become a deadly missle in a few seconds. If your lock doesn't have floating bollards, your lines will have to run from your bow and stern up to cleats on the top of the lock. Pass up a loop to be cleated at the top, and take up the slack on deck as the boat rises. Good luck on your voyage, and hope to see you locking up the Tennessee one day. Courtenay James BLUE SHAMU, Fisher 46 Motorsailer, Chattanooga, TN

<snip> > > Here's a very useful tip. I make up a loop on the outer end of the > midship dockline that will be large enough to easily drop over the > bollard using a boathook if I have to. We tie up midship, too, but I tie a line to the midship cleat, then drop that line over the bollard and bring it back to the cleat, take one wrap around the cleat and hold the line during the lockage. If the bollard sticks, I can just un-wrap the line and cast off rather than cutting the line. A couple of fenders, tied fore and aft, help with the bouncing off the lock wall as you pivot on that center cleat. M.J. Taylor

jcj@chattanooga.net writes: >Don't be concerned about locking. Although I haven't seen the FL >locks, I know they have to be a very short lift. In any case, the >process needn't be much more complicated than docking side-to. Escellent piece of writing. Good information. I bet a magazine like "Living Aboard" would be happy to publish it. I put it in my "keeper" file George of Scaramouche1, Lake Ontario, Canada